Copper matrix composites strengthened with carbon nanotubes or graphene platelets prepared by ball milling and vacuum hot pressing
Justyna Stolarska, Jan Dutkiewicz, Wojciech Maziarz, Janusz Pstruś, Anna Wójcik, Piotr Ozga
Quarterly No. 3, 2015 pages 174-180
DOI:
keywords: copper composites, carbon nanotubes, graphene platelets, electron microscopy
abstract In this study copper matrix composites with two types of additions i.e. graphene platelets in the amount of 1÷2 wt.% or multiwall carbon nanotubes in the amount of 1÷3 wt.% were studied. Two types of graphene platelets were applied: of a fine thickness of 2÷4 nm and coarser of a 10÷20 nm plate thickness. The addition of finer graphene platelets to copper causes less strengthening, but smaller electrical resistivity, while the addition of MWCNTs causes an increase in hardness in comparison to graphene platelets and slightly higher resistivity growing with the amount of nanotubes. SEM and TEM studies allowed to determine that carbon nanotubes and copper grain size are refined during milling which does not change after consolidation. In the samples with graphene, a more homogeneous distribution of platelets was observed in the case of fine graphene, while platelet conglomerates in the case of coarser graphene tend to occur after the consolidation process at the copper particle boundaries.